


Family Reunion

by dljensengirl88



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Domestic Discipline, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 21:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5885533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dljensengirl88/pseuds/dljensengirl88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I am not A TVD fan. It is The Originals that I adore, but their story starts in TVD land and this not-so-short missing scene hails from the story that started there, though it ended elsewhere. Warning: light spoilers ahead. This is my thought for a missing scene from Season 3, ep 13 – Bringing Out the Dead. Quick backstory for you fans: Elijah and Damon had convinced Stefan and Klaus to attend a dinner where they were to call a truce and decide how to handle the whole doppleganger situation. Klaus sent Elijah on an errand, but he ended up freeing his daggered siblings instead. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, THIS IS A DISCIPLINE FIC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Esther descended the steps, her astonished, freshly undaggered offspring unwilling or unable to utter more than, “Mother” as she slowly stepped past them. The click of her heels was deafening, buoyed by the depth of the stunned silence.

Elijah had intended the threat of the fourth coffin to be just that – a threat; leverage over his typically tyrannical younger brother, Niklaus, who never ceased to be cowed by the mention of their stern parents, even 1,000 years after they had more than grown up. Elijah had not expected the embodiment of that threat to resurrect mere seconds after he had spoken it. Now she stood before them, looking every bit the put-out mother come to scold the disobedient children who dared to disturb her rest.

Klaus stood in awe as he watched her approach. Just moments before, he had been bracing himself for the beating sure to be delivered by his outraged brothers and sister. They were angry, and rightly so, but he had not left them daggered out of spite. He was so close to completing the family home he had dreamed of for all of them since their father, Mikael, had chased them from New Orleans the first time. Could they not see how Klaus always had their best interest at heart? How much he loved, wanted and needed his family with him? Did they think it was easy to cart those damned coffins all over the Earth and defend them with his own life while they lay defenseless? He had become incensed at the suggestion that they would now leave him. He had been on the verge of exacting his own special brand of vengeance before they had a chance to punish him for his perceived transgressions, then leave him in a prison of loneliness.

That was when the rattle of the front door scattered his thoughts. The startling sight of his long-deceased mother sent those fleeing thoughts completely into hiding. His breath grew shallow. The heady thrum of his own heartbeat quickly drowned out the usually piercing sounds of mundane human life that shrieked and demanded his attention. He had not felt this way since the last beating his father had delivered before his mother had turned them into the vampiric monsters they now were thought to be.

Fear flooded him. His mother had always been his greatest ally and defender against his harsh father, but she, too, would not tolerate anything less than what she thought was befitting a young man of his lineage. He had – as all his siblings had – felt the hot sting of her aptly named pin beater, with which she used to weave her delicate tapestries when not using the instrument to discipline her wayward youths.

Esther fixed her sights on her middle child, the fourth of seven she had born, and set her course for him. Niklaus trembled as she drew near, the tyrant part of his psyche quickly banished, revealing the childlike state that lay in permanent residence at the center of his narcissistic and vengeful nature. He tried not to hyperventilate as his tear-filled eyes wildly sought refuge from her steely gaze. He huffed as he humbly eyed the floor.

“Look at me,” she demanded in the pronounced speech of her Norwegian heritage. “Do you know why I’m here?”

Klaus corralled his courage. He willed his eyes to meet hers. “You’re here to kill me,” Klaus whispered, sure in what he said and already willing to accept the...punishment? Nay, revenge he expected his mother to mete out for his starring role in her demise. If only killing him had been nothing but hyperbole. But in this post-human version of their family, the possibility of death at the hands of a beloved family member was all too real; an acceptable way to discipline disobedient relatives.

“Niklaus, you are my son,” she replied. “And I am here to forgive you.”

Now it was Klaus’ turn to be as speechless as his siblings. He did not know how to process the grace his mother was now extending to him. The very word -- forgive -- sent his senses into a dizzying whirl of confusion. He wanted to just fall into the comfortable pattern of rage and offense, but he knew this was not a situation that called for such a reaction. This, instead, was something he had not known from a parent in 10 generations and he had to take his time with it. Time may lose meaning to an immortal, but even their memories were short when there were insufferable events that needed to be forgotten.

Esther, proud woman that she was, looked at her forlorn child with a reserved kind of affection. She had hoped to impart her love a moment more, just she and her illegitimate son locked in an expressive gaze she was reluctant to break, before she carefully turned to her other children to pronounce her intentions. “I want us to be a family again,” she declared, a hopeful smile crinkling her still youthful eyes. Her children could only remain dumbfounded.

“Come now, my children. I know it has been a millennia, but is my presence really as miraculous as you think it to be? Is my return not only one of the gifts of immortality bestowed upon you, but wielded by wise witches such as myself?”

Finn, Esther’s loyal oldest son and second-born child, was the first to break their trance. “Mother,” he breathed, quickly moving to the nearby table to deposit his wine glass before rushing over to hug her. It had been too long since he had held her. He never expected to do so again, but he was only too glad to have back her stability, which anchored him in a sea of vicious siblings.

Esther held her son for a beat before pulling back to stroke his strong cheek and drink in his presence, his trusting eyes searching hers for whatever she would will him to do.

“Hello, Mother,” came Kol’s voice through the quiet sentiment. Esther’s gaze turned to her fifth child, her wildest progeny, whom she had watched from beyond the veil, longing to reach out to him and provide him with the mother he needed to tame his unfettered ways. He may have been considered a derelict in this world, but she knew him to simply be the fierce warrior his father had been training him to be. She was as proud of him as he was of himself, and she gladly welcomed him back to her bosom.

Kissing Kol’s hand, Esther looked over to see Rebekah standing shyly behind her brothers, peering around them to reacquaint her eyes with the mother she had long since buried in her heart. Elijah and Klaus had become her surrogate parents over the years, in the absence of their eldest brother, Finn, who had looked at them once too often with disdain before Klaus had finally put him down. The brother born right before her, Kol, was of little use either, since his priority in life was only himself. She had been the lone female of their small remaining clan, which proved to be a burden to her. It left her with no confidant with whom she could share the struggles of a girl finding her place in the world. What would it be like to have not only another woman in whom she could trust, but also a parent who would keep her bossy big brothers out of her business?

“Rebekah, my daughter. You are even more beautiful than I beheld behind the veil,” Esther said. She held out a hand and smiled as her sixth child let out a breath of contentment now that she was the focus of her mother’s attention. She felt more valued in that brief exchange than she had when her brothers were most pleased with her. There was truly nothing like a mother’s love.

Rebekah’s smile broadened as her confidence grew and she hastened to her mother, throwing her arms around her, feeling Esther’s face buried in her golden hair. “Mother, I’ve missed you so! Is this real?” Rebekah asked, suddenly worried and snapping back to search her mother’s eyes for confirmation, lest this be an evil trick by the Bennett witches. “Have you truly returned to us?”

“I am here by your side, my daughter,” Esther replied, stroking the girl’s hair as she looked at her sons, who all stood gathered around her. “I am here for all of you.” Smiling at her brood, she looked past Finn to finally greet her remaining child, who had stood quietly by watching the exchanges, measuring her since she had entered. She took a step forward to reach out to him.

“Elijah,” she called, “come.” She beckoned her cautious, third-born child. Finn may have been the eldest son, but Elijah had assumed the part as leader of his directionless band of little brothers and sister following the demise of their mother and the loss of their safety at the hands of their vengeful father. He now vacillated between the joy of reunion with the mother he so savagely lost a mere millennia ago and suspicion of the reasons that compelled her return in the first place. Had the Salvatores managed to free her? Had she managed a spell of her own from beyond, possibly with the aid of her sister witches from the Bennet clan?

Elijah knew his mother to be decisive in her actions, with singular purpose, but many lifetimes had past. How could he know and trust her motivations now? Surely she, like all the Mikaelson children, simply wanted the consistency of her family in the eternal inconsistency of the eras they traveled through. He had no good reason to think ill of her return, but he still could not help the nagging pull of his intuition that had served him so well all this time. However, without evidence, it was best to allow himself this opportunity to relish the moment; set his mother’s mind at ease for now while he watched and waited.

Elijah obediently stepped toward her and took her outstretched hand. Rebecca moved aside, but eagerly watched her older brother’s every move. Despite the anticipation of having a mother again, she was loyal to Elijah and Niklaus first and stood ready to follow whatever lead either of them gave in how to react to this unexpected situation.

“You have truly watched over your younger siblings, Elijah,” Esther said, pulling her son closer. Finn's eyes narrowed as he passed. Of course his younger brother thought himself the better man for the job as head of their siblings. He was as fiendish as they were. He just did a better job of hiding it behind his clean, tailored clothes and elitist manner. Surely their mother could see through the charade?

“It is a mother’s joy to see her children protect and care for each other so," Esther said sweetly. "I’m so very proud of you, Elijah.” Elijah smiled shyly and looked at the floor before chancing another look into his mother’s eyes. He was not as paranoid as Klaus, attention-starved as Rebecca, reckless as Kol, or even as hyper-moralistic as Finn, but he, too, was a damaged Mikaelson child and as such he could not simply relax in the praise of a parent without bracing for the inevitable declaration of disappointment in some other unintentional action of theirs. When none came and all he saw was his mother’s love, he also breathed a small sigh of relief, broadening the smile of Esther, who pulled him to her in a warm hug, freely offering him all the reassurances he needed, while settling within herself the feeling of consolation created by the positive reception from all her children.

She took a deep breath and looked around again as she began to speak. “Now, as I said,” she commenced, turning back to Klaus, who immediately put up a mental wall of defense after detecting a tone of chastisement in her voice. He had hoped it was his imagination, but he knew his mother well and she was not the sort to suffer a wound to her family at the hand of neither foe nor loved one. She would seek an immediate remedy to whatever tried to divide them.

It was almost as if no time had passed at all. Klaus knew what words would next leave her lips. “Niklaus, I am here to forgive you and to broker forgiveness among all of my children.” Klaus listened with guarded interest.

In the time of the creation of the Mikaelson vampire clan, the world had been a much more dangerous place. It would often take harsh measures to prepare a child to live in it, thus making pain the most effective way to illustrate that actions had consequences. For Esther, standing before her children once again, this time quite literally seemed like yesterday. It did not please her to have to inflict any sort of agony on any of her children, least of all Klaus, the product of her most beloved, but it was necessary now for the healing of her family.

“In order to be the family I know we can be again, we must first right this wrong and set all hearts at ease,” Esther explained. Klaus blinked and hung his head, already understanding the spirit behind what she said, but unwilling to help his mother seal his fate. He would simply wait for her judgment and then -- hopefully willingly -- submit to whatever she decided, however difficult that might be. Swift action would get them that much closer to the peace he yearned for. He willed himself not to react defensively.

Esther physically separated herself now, walking toward the fireplace to re-establish her authority and pronounce her judgment. She listened to the crackle of the fire, enjoying warmth again afforded by the blaze, a luxury lost on the other side. She tossed her long, blonde locks as she turned back to her waiting children, this time speaking directly to Klaus. “You have certainly created a beautiful home for your family, my son,” she said as she looked about the place. “It is clear you have spared no expense.” She studied the art on the walls, the sturdiness of the furniture, even what appeared to be tapestries upon the floor that she could have weaved herself once upon a time. “Tell me,” she said, “does the great attention you have employed here to honor your family and heritage extend to your gardens as well?”

 

Confused by his mother’s sudden desire to talk décor and curb appeal, Klaus nodded cautiously. “I have had our home surrounded by many of the same trees, shrubs and flowers that could be found around our own home in the Old World,” he said carefully, still trying to fully decipher her true intention. “I wanted us all to feel at ease in this new one.”

“Very good,” Esther replied. “So that means there are birch trees nearby.”

Now getting her full meaning, Klaus swallowed, but nodded yes as he shrank within himself. Esther smiled and clasped her hands before her.

“Niklaus,” she called, giving her intimidated son the pause he needed to step toward her now. “Your offenses toward your siblings are numerous. It hurts me to even name your many grievances, but you are aware of all your trespasses,” she finished declaratively, knowing Klaus would not be able to refute her statement. He would need to acknowledge his awareness, however, and she hoped that he would not make this difficult on any of them.

Klaus bowed his head again, searching his mind for any loophole he could legitimately offer as his defense. He had already been stating his case to his siblings before his mother’s arrival, but whereas leniency was the constant, if not reluctant, gift of said siblings, he knew neither of his parents could be so easily swayed. Still, he had to try.

Klaus looked up once again and into his mother's eyes. “I beg for your mercy, Mother,” he finally replied. “Yours and all of my siblings,” he continued, his courage beginning to grow as he turned to look at his brothers and sister who must have been more overwhelmed at their mother’s return now than by their previous anger at the matter of a little daggering – or four. “You are correct that my actions have been grievous. But I, too have been grieved; grieved by the very losses I have inflicted. It was not my intent to damn my siblings to eternal sleep, Mother," he said, whirling back around to meet her gaze. "I assure you. Did you not say yourself this very evening that it is your joy to see your children protect and care for each other? That is all I was doing,” he pleaded.

“For 900 years?!” Finn exclaimed incredulously. “Who are you to condemn us to this fate?” he demanded.

“Who are you to condemn anyone?” Kol added with venom. "You who wipes out whole communities on a whim!”

Finn had caught the silent rebuke of his mother, who had not wanted to further fan the flame of her children’s ire. He held the arm of his youngest brother to communicate refrain. It was clear allowing Niklaus the opportunity to defend himself would only bring tensions to boil anew. That would not be necessary, as even Niklaus would eventually admit the error of his ways. They would simply skip the testimony and further defense. The jury had already found him guilty and really this was merely Klaus’ opportunity to plead for leniency.

And Klaus knew this. For once, he did not continue the argument. He knew it was pointless. Turning back to fully face his siblings now, he lowered his arms in surrender, but raised his head in pride. “I apologize to you all. I was wrong. You surely deserve to exact some sort of justice upon me.” Klaus turned back to Esther now. “I will heed whatever punishment you have for me, Mother, if you will promise me that this will cleanse my slate and I will be allowed the chance to prove my allegiance to this family; to earn your love once again.”

Esther considered Niklaus’ request, offering him a small smile before she nodded her agreement. Klaus returned with a simple nod of understanding before Esther looked over at her other sons yet again.

Though she spoke not a word, Finn and Kol sprung into action, knowing her unuttered request; only too happy to help correct their errant brother. Seizing Klaus’ wrists, they hauled him to the table where he and Elijah had only recently been having dinner with the Salvatore brothers. Kol swept the dishes from the surface so he and Finn could lay their brother across it, each clutching an upper arm and pinning him to the round table on either side.

Their sudden movements had startled Rebekah and Elijah, who knew only too well what was to come and internally agreed with the overall judgment that something needed to be done to put Klaus in his place, but they were nevertheless saddened by the impending discipline of the one brother whom they most sought to love and redeem. They knew, because of the circumstances of his birth, that Klaus had needed their love and loyalty more than the others. They worried that Finn and Kol, who seemed to have always harbored some sort of jealousy of the closeness these three shared, would now cease to exercise restraint and truly hurt their brother beyond repair. The sympathetic pair did not want to see Klaus unfairly treated by yet more family as he had been all those years ago while he was a child as well as more recently, all at the hands of their father, whose own hatred of his bastard son had fueled his relentless pursuit through the years.

Elijah knew that Klaus was a very proud man, and his agreement just now to accept his punishment without putting up any kind of resistance clearly indicated that he was sorry. However, Klaus' silence also meant that he would not plead his own case any further, nor ask simply not to be hurt too greatly. So he thought he should do so in Klaus' stead.

“Please, Mother,” Elijah implored, stepping toward the table where his brother was held down. “Klaus has surely already begun his redemption, inspired even by the fact that he is outnumbered by angry siblings seeking retribution. Add to that, correction by his mother in front of said siblings as if he were still a boy and he is surely humbled all the more. Injuring his pride is just as effective as marring his flesh, is it not?”

Esther smiled and slowly walked towards her son. She stood before him taking a moment to appreciate the fairness he always sought to display, no matter who the offending party might be. “My sweet, Elijah.” She gently cupped his face. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son,” she explained, “but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”

Elijah drew a breath and stared silently at his mother. Seeing no reprieve forthcoming, he gave a small nod confirming he would say nothing more against it. Esther was indeed moved by her son’s plea for the brother who had hurt him, but she would stand fast for the sake of them all.

Before she withdrew her hands, Elijah gently held onto one and kept it to his cheek. “If he must be punished this way, may I at least help hold him,” he asked quietly. Esther knit her eyebrows, not understanding at first. But as she looked over at her prone, waiting child and the two brothers all too eager to keep him that way, she acquiesced. “Very well,” she agreed. “Kol,” she called. “Fetch me birch branches and do not dally.”

Kol squinted at Elijah who had dared take his prime position at the dynamic show that would be the spanking of his willful brother, but he equally dared not to draw any of his mother’s rebuke lest he find himself in the same position.

Elijah navigated the fallen dishes and stepped over to Kol’s side, giving the quietest of sneers to his youngest brother as he moved away, a look that was out of the view of their mother, who now busied herself with unfastening and lowering his penitent brother’s trousers.

Returning the glare, Kol then wasted no more time dashing outside to collect and strip the required implements requested by his mother. Elijah slowly took Klaus’ free hand, stepping in front of the table to face him better. He aimed another glare now at Finn, who loomed over Klaus, both hands wrapped around Klaus’s upper arm to keep him in place. Finn looked to be enjoying this too much. Elijah silently vowed to one day find a way to get even the smallest amount of revenge on his older brother – without incurring Mother’s wrath on himself – for reveling, even in the slightest, in his younger brother’s coming pain.

With Klaus’ hand now securely set in his own, Elijah stooped before him, covering his brother’s hand with his other, stroking the soft skin that rested in his palm and looking into Klaus’ already wet eyes. Always and forever he would be there for him, his eyes conveyed.

Klaus bit his lower lip as he looked back at the brother who now offered him a small, empathetic smile. Always and forever, he returned, squeezing the warm hand that carefully held his, showing his appreciation that his elder brother would choose to extend any help and comfort in a time such as this. He knew the sting of those birch branches would become unbearable with repeated administrations by his mother, but having Elijah there to give him a place to focus and feel protected would certainly help him to endure the pain.

For now, Klaus was effectively humiliated. He could feel the eyes of his oldest brother and little sister upon him as his mother bared him. Elijah, at least, had lowered himself to not only provide comfort, but privacy as he now kneeled before Klaus, his position making it impossible to see anything more than his brother’s worried face.

Klaus knew Kol would soon return with the instrument that would inflict pain upon him, causing him to humiliate himself even further because he knew well the strength of his mother’s hand as well as her convictions. He would not be able to hold back the cries she would eventually rip from him.


	2. Chapter 2

As if hearing Klaus' thoughts, Kol reappeared. Klaus knew this by the footfalls that hurried to their mother, who waited behind him. Klaus would not look over, however. He kept his eyes on Elijah who held his gaze, the pair determined to create a place of strength from which Klaus could draw during the punishment. "Thank you, 'Lijah," Klaus whispered. Elijah gave a small, sad but reassuring smile in return.

Esther took the branches from Kol, studying their various lengths and widths, the smaller ones all extending from the single, thick branch that would serve as the handle. The branches easily moved as she flicked her wrist testing their sturdiness. She could hear the whipping sound they made as they moved deftly through the air. It did not seem as if they would break too quickly.

Klaus closed his eyes upon hearing the sound the branches made. He could only imagine the welts they would make. Right now he thought it a blessing to be a being who healed quickly, able to absorb those painful marks, yet that same healing ability was also a curse. His mother would surely quickly, expertly and repeatedly apply those branches for what would seem to be an eternity, long past what any human could bear, because she would need to see evidence of her discipline on his skin. Klaus could only hope she would tire as quickly as any human would.

"This will do nicely. Thank you, Kol," Esther said. Kol nodded and stepped back to stand by Rebekah. He was all too excited to see his mother get on with it.

Esther looked over at Niklaus, held bent over the table by a fervent Finn and an uneasy Elijah. She closed her eyes a moment, remembering how much it had hurt Elijah so many years ago when Mikael had insisted Elijah help him tie Klaus to the stand he used to whip Klaus into submission. It pained her to think that she was now the one implicating him in what seemed to be yet another crime against his innocent brother, but she could not think like that. She was not Mikael. What she did was truly out of love for her son, who was not as innocent as he used to be. And this time, Elijah had chosen his position, not because she demanded it, but because he knew Klaus needed an ally by his side.

She could see Elijah determined not to watch. "Hold fast, Elijah," she warned. “Yes, Mother,” was his impatient though respectful reply. He just wanted the whole affair over with.

As Esther raised her hand, Rebekah's eyes widened and she gasped, quickly turning her back, pointlessly covering her highly sensitive ears with her hands. She had wanted justice from Niklaus, but now faced with it, it was too much to bear.

Klaus knew there would be no lecturing or admonishing of his behavior. There would be no pointless modern-day preambles such as “This is for your own good” or “This is going to hurt me more than it does you.” He was, unfortunately, the illegitimate son of a Viking. He knew damned well this was going to hurt him and his pride immensely, and for a long time to come.

The first strike made everyone grimace. Klaus tightened his grip on Elijah's hand as the pain took him by surprise. Esther was merely administering a few test blows, getting a good grip on the branch as she did so, making sure none of the smaller branches broke while in use. She was not yet putting her strength into it, but the blows were nonetheless effective. Klaus took controlled breaths as she laid three more strikes on the center of his behind before she stopped a moment.

"Those were in preparation, my son," was all she would give as a brief warning before raising her hand yet again, this time putting all of her power behind the blow. She stepped closer as she struck, finding a rhythm as she laid the punishing strikes upon Klaus' reddening skin. Soon, Finn had moved behind the table, next to Elijah, maintaining his grip on Klaus's arm, but making room for his mother, who now stood over her penitent son. She placed her hand on Klaus' back as she steadily whipped him with the branches.

Esther's strikes were forceful. She meant to have all her children hear this and understand that she would be minded from now on. And it was working. Klaus had begun to lose control of his breaths, grunting more and more with each painful strike across his emblazoned rear.

Kol crossed his arms, not taking his eyes off the delightful sight. He covered his mouth with one fist to not just hide his grin, but his own grimace each time the blows fell. It sounded almost as bad as when Mikael was doing the lashing, except he knew his father had done it out of anger at Klaus, his mother and her damned werewolf lover who was Klaus' true father. Then, Kol had felt pity for Klaus who could not have helped the circumstances of his birth if he tried. Now, Kol was not entirely sure what he felt as his own anger mixed yet again with some bit of stale empathy.

Rebecca hugged herself now, beginning to feel her own phantom blows of empathy each time she heard them land on her brother. She could hear him beginning to sniffle, amazed by the power guilt had over him, because surely it was more guilt than pain that had him beginning to weep now. Her own tears began to silently fall as she wished the spanking would come to an end.

It pained Elijah to see his brother's tears, his own blurring his vision, but he would stay the course and be the beacon of strength Klaus needed. "It will be over soon, little brother," he whispered in Klaus' ear, squeezing his hand, only too happy to feel Klaus squeeze back that he had heard him and he would endure.

Finn simply stood fast, pressing down on Klaus' arm, with his head bowed and eyes closed, listening impassively as his mother continued her correction of his hybrid brother.

With strike after strike, Esther blew out a breath, determined to keep going until she felt Niklaus was truly regretful of his actions. She would not stop until she could hear it in his voice and believe it in her heart. And by the way he had begun to squirm as she whipped him with the strong branches, she thought they were finally getting close to true repentance.

Klaus was starting to find himself unable to hold his cries. The sting of the branches came not just from his mother's blows, but from the small, gnarled parts of the branches where the leaves had grown before Kol had stripped them away when he prepared the branches. Those same gnarled parts now tore into Klaus' flesh as they made contact, causing him to hiss at first and now cry out as Esther kept up the hiding she was giving him.

Esther watched in some fascination as she raised serious red welts on Klaus' behind, yet they never seemed to get any worse than that. If she slowed for even a moment, they seemed to begin to fade before her eyes. It was a miracle she was imparting any lesson on him at all. She assumed his vampire nature was what was behind his rapid healing, but he was, indeed, crying. She could hear it. And as she continued to rip into him, his cries had begun to equally rip into her heart.

"Mother," Klaus panted. "Please. I do not know how much more of this I can endure," he said, his voice starting to shake as he spoke.

"From the looks of it," Esther replied, "you could last an eternity."

Klaus tried to jump up. "No, Mother!" he started, before Finn pushed him back down, holding him with more vigor.

"Please," Klaus begged her between strikes. "Do not let my powers of healing mislead you." Esther struck again, pulling yet another cry from Klaus. "I assure you I feel every bit as remorseful as you would will me to feel, Mother." Another blow from the branches rained on him and he cried out again before continuing. "I am bearing more pain than it would seem," he grunted. Esther continued to strike causing Klaus to cry out more and give up his pleas.

Elijah lowed his head to Klaus', hoping to hide his own tears and silently willing his mother to stop.

"Rebekah," Esther spoke quite suddenly. Rebekah gasped at the sound of her name and turned her head to listen. "Yes, Mother?"

"Do you still have what I last used to discipline you?"

Rebekah closed her eyes at the mention of the last time she was over her mother's knee. "Yes, Mother," she replied.

"Fetch it," Esther order. "Do not tarry."

Kol could feel the rush of the air beside him as Rebekah used her vampire speed to hurry from the room. Klaus had only just begun to set up the bedrooms and even though she was not yet familiar with it all, she knew he would have her things in one of the rooms and she would be able to locate what she needed.

Esther applied three more strokes of the branches on Klaus' greatly punished behind before she dropped it, keeping her hand pressed on his back. "If I thought my hand would be effective, I would lay into you right now, Niklaus, with all the force every grandmother in our line would grant me."

Rebekah appeared then at her mother's side, placing the implement in her waiting hand. She caught sight of the multitude of welts that lay at all angles across her brother's backside and closed her eyes in anguish before dashing back to her previous position.

Elijah took the moment to look up at his mother, wanting to satisfy his growing curiosity about what she was up to now. His eyes widened as he watched Rebekah hand her the requested object. Looking back at his brother, he saw Klaus watching him, the question in his tear-filled eyes clear. But there would be no need to answer as Esther was set to share the answer herself.

"The next best thing to my palm?" she continued. "My mother's spruce hairbrush."

Klaus' eyes shut at the mention. He and all of his siblings had been on the business end of that brush numerous times, with its wide back and ornate design, carved thick to withstand use, meant to become the family heirloom it now was. Short of using her own hand, which grew less effective as her children grew older, this was as intimate as Esther could get with her spankings. When she wanted them to truly feel like she was taking her hand to them -- thus activating the feeling that they had deeply disappointed her, making them want to do anything to please her -- this was how she accomplished it. Nothing made her adult children feel more childlike and ashamed as that brush made them feel. Niklaus hoped this signaled the beginning of the end of the torment, though it would not come easily.

Esther swung the brush with surety, as if it had not been 1,000 years since she last wielded it. Klaus cried out upon contact. With the brush, Esther could move faster than she had with the branches. She lit up Klaus' behind with smack after relentless smack, peppering first one cheek then the other, moving down to include his thighs, which had mainly escaped the punishment of the splayed branches that landed where they willed. Now she could target the areas she chose and focus her concentration on extracting sorrowful cries from her naughty son.

As the slaps rang out, Rebekah threw up a silent prayer to whatever god would listen that her mother would soon be done. Elijah shook his head, conflicted by his feelings to stay his mother's hand and to not interfere with her parenting because he knew she was trying to get them all to a point of being ready to hear whatever she had to say about how to reunite their family.

Niklaus ceased caring about his pride and hybrid show of strength, and openly wept under his mother's steady, severe hand. When Esther realized Klaus was no longer trying to bargain with her, that he had stopped squirming and simply lay in submission upon the table taking every blow she dealt and crying in return, she let up.

"That will do, Finn," she said to her oldest, handing him the brush as he released Klaus' arm and stepped back. She rubbed Klaus' back, feeling him tremble under her as his tears continued to flow. "It's alright now, my child," she whispered. "Well done, well done."

Esther walked around Klaus to get to his other arm. "Rise now, my son," she said, gently taking his hand as she pulled it from Elijah's. "It's alright," she said as she looked at Elijah while speaking to both. Elijah rose to stand before her, reluctant to release his brother. "It's alright, Elijah," she assured him. Wiping the tears from his cheek with her thumb while she held his face, she smiled at her empathetic son. "I have him now. I assure you." Elijah stood a moment longer before relenting and stepping back to give his mother room.

Klaus remained across the table, his weeping finally starting to quiet. Esther leaned over him now, stroking his hair as she kissed his forehead. "You're good now, Niklaus. All is well. Rise up. Tend to your garments now and know that you took your punishment well. I am very proud of you."

As she spoke, Klaus slowly began to push up from the table. Elijah looked menacingly at Kol and Finn, who were surprisingly willing to grant Klaus his dignity and turn their backs as he pulled his pants back up and fastened them with shaky hands.

Esther kept her eyes on Klaus' face, which was surely now as red as his backside. Humiliated by the entire ordeal, he was nonetheless grateful for his mother's show of affection, the soft touch of her hand on his face now restoring peace to his soul after dispensing such sharp discipline just seconds before. "So proud of you, my son. This has surely helped us all."

Klaus could only nod at his mother's words. While the pain of the spanking was already starting to subside, the sting of his bruised ego was growing stronger. He could not make eye contact with any of his siblings; not yet, not even with his understanding Elijah.

"Come, Niklaus," she said, taking his hand to lead him to the next room where she could sit and hold her brooding son. Her other children watched a moment as she found the sofa and nestled herself into the corner of it to allow Klaus to lay next to her with his head on her lap. Rebekah, Kol, Finn and Elijah looked at each other before following them, each finding a seat opposite their mother and chastised brother.

Not ready to face them, Klaus closed his eyes and allowed himself to momentarily relax under his mother's hand, her tender strokes of his hair and face ushering him back to the time when her voice, her words, her songs were all it took to soothe the savagery within him that was yearning to be released for the first time. That same savagery was compelled to yield to her now as she promised the fulfillment of his dream of a family restored.

Esther leaned down to plant another kiss on her middle child's forehead. She looked up at her other waiting children, taking note of Elijah's guarded demeanor and smiling at Rebekah's thoughtful chewing of her lower lip. She exchanged understanding glances with her devoted Finn and anticipated that Kol would be the next child she'd have to set straight in the not-too-distant future. And that was as she would have wished it. Her family once again gathered around her, free from the influence and abuse of her oppressive husband.

"Now, my children," she said, "I think it's time to reintroduce our renewed little family to society." She continued to stroke the weary head of her son on her lap, and smiled at the skepticism and questions she saw growing on her other children's faces. "I think it's time we Mikaelsons have a proper ball."


End file.
